I’m Not Rich, But I Am Financially Free — And Here’s How I Got There

Let’s face it, the more choices we have in life, the richer and more rewarding it becomes.

Fortunately, I’m currently in that coveted sweet spot where I can do pretty much whatever the heck I please, whenever I want.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not in a position to buy whatever I want, but I am able to take advantage of a lot of opportunities in life that are typically out of reach for the financially undisciplined crowd. So, financially speaking, I’m in a pretty good place right now.

Flexibility Is a Powerful Perk

If I want to drop everything right now and take a spur-of-the-moment vacation, or visit some friends on the other side of the country, I can do it. True, I won’t be flying first class or staying in five-star hotels, but I can do it in a financially reasonable manner, knowing that the bills will be paid in full shortly after they arrive in the mailbox.

Many of you know that several years ago I made the biggest impulse purchase of my life, shelling out almost $2500 — from a “mad money” savings account I have — on a couple of tickets to see my hockey team play a Stanley Cup Final game. And I don’t regret it for one minute.

I’m also fortunate right now to be in a position to handle unanticipated financial surprises — like the time I got blindsided with a dentist bill for $3332 to cover the cost of, among other things, having my son’s impacted wisdom teeth removed. And while that really smarted at the time, I was thankful to be able to pay the entire bill without having to take out a loan because I had a rainy day fund to handle unexpected expenses.

The Quest for Financial Freedom

Although a lot of folks would disagree with me, I’m not rich — but I am financially free. It’s important to understand that the two are not synonymous.

Believe it or not, financial freedom can be achieved no matter how much money you earn. All it takes is a lot of discipline, a little patience, and a strong commitment to spend less than you earn, which is why I constantly preach that financial freedom is a state of mind as much as it’s a state of being.

So how did I get to this point? Well, there are two big reasons:

I’ve always lived well below my means. Always.

I’ve kept my debt to a minimum. That’s not to say all debt is bad; it’s not. But for as long as I can remember, other than cars and houses, I’ve never bought anything unless I’ve had the money already set aside to pay for it in full.

That simple strategy has allowed me to avoid tens of thousands of dollars in interest payments over the years. That’s money I’ve been able to spend on fun things like a last-minute vacation to Hawaii and, even more importantly, feed into my retirement, mad-money and rainy day funds.

The Moral of the Story

It’s never too late to start your quest for financial freedom.

Remember, if I can do this, you can too — even if you have a modest income and currently find yourself buried under a mountain of debt. You’ve got to trust me on this one.

The only catch is you’ve really got to want it.

The bottom line is this: Debt limits your choices and future opportunities in life because you end up spending tomorrow’s wages today.

The good news is that by forcing — and then keeping — the red ink on your balance sheet to a minimum, you’ll not only keep more control of your life as you get older, but you’ll also gain the financial flexibility to make it richer and more rewarding too.

Comments

Great wisdom, and I can vouch for it. We’re there, too, and we followed the same formula. Sadly, it took a while for us to “get it” but, on the other hand, we were fortunate enough to be able to really turbocharge our Drop Dead Money fund (which is what we called out financial freedom fund) with a third key:

Understand the economic cycle: sell when prices are high and buy when they drop. In economic cycle big ticket things, like houses, stocks, mutual funds and rental properties all go up in price and come down again. The cycle lasts about 7-10 years, top to top or bottom to bottom.

To us at least, that made an enormous difference, because it allowed us to exit this past recession in the best shape of our lives financially. If we hadn’t known that, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

Good for you, William! I just wish I would have been more bullish at the bottom of this last economic cycle. I foresaw the last stock market crash months before it occurred and, as a result, I was able to get out in time to save my retirement savings. Unfortunately, I wasn’t aggressive enough jumping back in — I made the mistake of thinking the market was rational! lol

Totally agreed! Leaving below your means, regardless of income, is the key to early financial freedom. You would also seriously want to be financially independent. Without desire, there is no drive to achieve it.

We are trying our best to live below our means after a year of being out of college and having “real income”. The party time is over. I also agree with Spedie, having a partner who values what you value (and even keeps you on track at times) is priceless 🙂

My first year out of college was probably my most tempting period, Lauren. Suddenly you’ve got some real decent income coming in and not a lot of obligations, so it is easy to spend at a level that is at least on par with your income.

“Believe it or not, financial freedom can be achieved no matter how much money you earn.”

I don’t think so.

I suppose you can define financial freedom however you want in order to make this statement true, but for how most people would think of it, that isn’t true. Unless you are sitting on a big wad o’ cash, if you earn too little, you simply will hit a point in which you are tightly financially constrained–anything but “free”–despite all the best personal finances wisdom in the world.

The older I get, the more I see how earnings just creams savings in wealth accumulation. I didn’t grok this point as a younger person, and I’m paying for it now.

I see your point, mc. Like you said, I think it is all depends on our definitions of the terms.

For me, I’d say “financial independence” is tough to achieve on small incomes, but not “financial freedom.”

How do I define “financial independence”? That would be having enough in the bank to do whatever I want for the rest of my life without having to work ever again.

On the other hand, I define “financial freedom” as being able to pay for all my bills and other obligations (retirement, insurance, etc.) and still have enough free cash at my disposal each month to stake advantage of financial opportunities (within reason, whether it’s splurging on wants, or making investments) under the constraints of my current income.

In my view, one can still have debt and be financially free. I know a lot of people would disagree with me on that last point.

Len, you are touching on two very important points here: one, that to become financially free it doean’t matter how much one earns but it is a matter of balance; and two, that being financially free is not only about how much money one has (the material) but also a matter of mentality. Good post!

I always think that “rich” is someone else! Despite that, I am quite comfortable because of financial independence. I am able to do work I enjoy without thinking about the pay scale. I know I have enough in my retirement savings to support my wife and I in a very comfortable way.

You are in a really good place, Larry. I’m financially free, but I wouldn’t be able to do what I am doing now for long if I lost my main source of income. That’s not to say I couldn’t live for quite awhile without additional income — I could. But I wouldn’t have as many opportunities to do what I’d like to do, when I wanted to do it.

Great advice, Len. That you’re able to do these things is great, and a testament to making sound decisions over many years it seems.

I tend to look at things in terms of financial freedom and flexibility as well. For me, it’s about thinking in terms of not wanting to work until I’m super old and physically less able to do so. Better to pay dues now, by working and saving. When young, we’re working for our current needs AND the needs of the ancient version of ourselves 🙂

Fantastic post. Two principles have always struck me as the easiest way to achieve financial independence. 1) Spend money like your Depression era grandparents (read: only if absolutely necessary) and 2) Work your ass off to earn your money. Very simple. I’m not financially out of the woods yet, still have a little debt, but making great strides and know I will get there in the near future. Thanks Len!

That is great Len. I wish to achieve the same one day. My problem is that on paper I can make ends meet (just!)However as the month passes it never feels like there is just enough to spread around. How can I get there? Is there a map?

I was just thinking about this a few days ago. We have friends getting married in Ireland next year and it’s so nice to be able to instantly say, yes, we’ll go. We don’t make a lot of impulse buys so when a big ticket item comes up that we really want, it’s not a big deal anymore.

Rainy day fund – I keep about $2000 in this for short term emergencies.
Emergency fund – I keep a minimum of six months of living expenses to cover me in the event of a job loss or medical issues (although right now it’s more than that)
Mad money fund – the amount in this fluctuates, but I use the money in this for pop-up opportunities like concerts, last-minute vacays, or consumer splurges

I have learned over time that the ultimate goal in life is to be happy. In order to be happy you need to feel happy. In order to feel happy you need to do things that get you in that mindset. If you know what you want in life, just by doing something about it everyday, big or small, you set your mind, you feel happy and finally become a happy person. I am 28, I come from a 3rd world country, and I am on my way to financial freedom

I specifically like the description of the funds you have. A rainy day fund and an emergency fund are both necessities, however a mad money fund is what separates the financially savvy from the financially free.

The absolute key point is to live below your means. But you have to have enough means to pay for life’s necessities for you and your family. Today’s economy isn’t that kind to many people, who are just barely getting by in part-time jobs.

Your point is well taken, though. Maintenance–Taking good care of a car so it outlives its payments, fixing the roof before it leaks and causes much more damage, and so on–can save an awful lot of money. So does finding enjoyment in small ways.

A friend invited us to his summer cottage. We realized that every single thing there was to do there was available to us at home, in our own backyard and community. After that, we planned “staycations” with a whole new attitude.

Exactly the same, except I bought everything, including houses and cars, in cash. I make good money but my house is no palace. My car is a luxury brand, but not super high end. It was a good value too.

The trick is: every penny of interest and fees you pay subtracts from a finite amount over which you will have control throughout your lifetime, and that subtraction is permanent.

I think most ppl need more than this to start affecting change. It may just be the jolt to get some ppl thinking of how and even the possibility of a different way.

Also, my friend, you ARE rich. If you own a home and a car, you are far more wealthy than over 90% of the world’s population. Saying you are not rich, shows that you are still thinking like an American. You have far more wealth than I have, and even I am rich by the world’s standard (I am far below the poverty line by the American standard; yet, I too, am fairly well financially independent). We are first of all human beings– citizens of the world– nationality comes later (or reveals very narrow self-involved thinking if it comes first and foremost).

My jolt was reading years ago about a couple who chose to live on half of her husband’s income, and for her to never work away from home, saving or generously giving the other half, so they could help others in need, and so they could retire early and comfortably or chose spontaneously to go on mission trips. He made less than minimum wage for their first several years together, but they realized their goals.

It is not only possible, but EASY, if (and only if) you are more interested in adequate, comfortable shelter (or getting safely from point A to point B)than in impressing people who do not already know that you are intrinsically ENOUGH (on your own, with zero possessions). Why do you want to impress those people, anyway?

It feels like I have to be financially free! I want my debt to be minimal so that it would let me do whatever I want and save for my retirement. I just want to achieve this by being financially responsible.

Cannot agree with this enough since I’ve now Become a part of the crowd. Back in 2004 I was pushing rock bottom and trying to get on my feet. By the grace of God I was able to land a good job I’ve been at for 12 years now and have made regular 401k contributions well above the minimum.

In addition, paid off mortgage, have not had any cc debt since 2007 and just have the general stress free feeling of financial freedom. Have friends struggling and I have volunteered to help them especially my one friend who just had a child.

I think the bottom line is as we age (I’m 50 now) your tastes change. I’ve always wanted a Porsche and now just don’t feel like dealing with the hassle of the upkeep and property taxes that go with it. My father says that’s normal and a part of growing up. I’m not living like a cheapskate but definitely know the priorities of saving.

One day at a time. Baby steps will lead us all to financial independence if we are diligent and consistent. Thanks for sharing your story. I’m happy to learn that you put the money down to go to a Stanley Cup Final Game. I splurged on the World Series a few years ago. I too have no regrets.

[…] 11. He knows that failing to plan is the same as planning to fail. He also knows that the few millionaires that reached that milestone without a plan got there only because of dumb luck. It’s not enough to simply declare that you want to be financially free. […]

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